Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
Monday night members of the Lynn, Massachusetts Police Department were conducting surveillance near Ida Street and Western Avenue. They observed the driver of a car, later identified as Agapito Rivera of Lynn acting suspiciously. He was looking around as if he were waiting for someone. Within a few minutes another car being driven by co-defendant Juan Martinez of East Boston pulled up. Rivera got into the passenger seat of Martinez’s car. At that time one of the surveillance officers appeared. Rivera then made movements towards the underside of the seat in which he was sitting. The officer then saw money and a plastic bagging in the center console. Rivera was asked to get out of the car. He complied. The officer then found a bag of cocaine under the seat. It turns out that there was in excess of fourteen grams of cocaine in the vehicle. Both Rivera and Martinez were arrested. They have been charged with Trafficking Cocaine Over 14 Grams. The case is currently pending in the Lynn District Court. If the weight of the Cocaine is confirmed at over fourteen grams the district attorney will likely indict this case and the prosecution will take place in the Essex County Superior Court in Salem. Bail for each of the defendants was set at fifteen thousand dollars.
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Lynn, Massachusetts Cocaine Trafficking Defense Lawyer
Anytime I read an article like this one I immediately become suspicious. Were the police conducting the surveillance based on information that focused on one or both of the defendants or was the surveillance being conducted to target a known drug distribution area. The difference is significant to Massachusetts Criminal Lawyers who are defending Rivera and Martinez. In both cases the defense lawyers will be looking to suppress the search by attacking its constitutionality. If the officers were basing their efforts on information supplied to them by an informant the approach to suppression focuses on the credibility of the informant. What was his or her basis of knowledge? Was he or she reliable? Was the information supplied sufficiently corroborated? If the officers were in this area conducting a random surveillance then the focus for an attack on the search centers on the reasonableness of the police officers actions. What exactly did they do when the approached the car? What specifically were Rivera and Martinez doing or appearing to do while the officers approached? What were the officers’ actions? What did the officers say if anything when approaching the car or once they got to the car? Motions to Suppress unlawful police activity are one of the most effective tools that Lynn, Massachusetts Cocaine Trafficking Lawyers can utilize in defending their clients.
The Law Offices of Stephen Neyman has been defending the accused for over twenty years. We have been successful defending cases throughout Massachusetts and the entire country. We have won countless Motions to Suppress that have resulted in the dismissal of serious drug charges against our clients, including drug trafficking cases. Call us now at 617-263-6800 or contact us online.